Top 10 Places To Visit in Argentina - Travel Guide

What's up guys! My name is Ryan and I recently returned from exploring the incredible country of Argentina and I want to share with you my favorite places and experiences so here's my Argentina top 10. Located in South America, Argentina is one of the most beautiful countries on earth. It's home to some of the world's most stunning mountains, massive glaciers, and incredible wildlife. From the jagged peaks of Fitzroy to the rugged landscapes of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina will leave you in awe of its endless beauty. Let's start this video off at Iguazu Falls. Located in Northern Argentina, right in the border between Brazil, Iguazu Falls is one of the most powerful waterfall systems in the world. At its peak, Iguazu can have up to 300 waterfalls. The most recognizable feature of Iguazu is the devil's throat. It's this horseshoe-shaped chasm where a majority of the water goes. About 20% of the falls is in Brazil and the other 80% is in Argentina. You can visit the falls from both countries and they both offer unique experiences and different views. There's plenty of walkways that you can go on to get up close to the falls. I can't believe the power of this place. It's just unbelievable. After it, we're going to head to the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. Located on Rio de la Plata, Buenos Aires is the largest city in Argentina with a population of 16.7 million in its metropolitan area. The region around Buenos Aires was first discovered by Spanish explorers in the 16th century and today it's one of South America's largest cities. One of my favorite features of Buenos Aires is its architecture. It's been nicknamed the Paris of South America and after seeing it, I can understand why. One of my favorite features of the city is the obelisco. It was unveiled in 1936 and it stands in the middle of the Avenue de Huelva de Julio with a height of 221 feet. And this place looks absolutely insane after Argentina won the World Cup in 2022. Regardless, Buenos Aires is such a Afterwards, we're going to head to Perma Marca. Located in the northwest section of Argentina, the area around Perma Marca is home to arid landscapes and beautiful geography. What really caught my attention about this area is the hill of seven colors. It's this colorful mountainside that overlooks the small town of Perma Marca. The geography in this part of Argentina is particularly stunning. I just love all the mountains. There's also this ancient site called Bucara de Tocara nearby that dates back even past Incan times. After, we're going to summit Mount Aconcagua. Located in the Andes Mountains of the Mendoza Province, Mount Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the Americas with a height of 22,837 feet. It is possible to summit Aconcagua and it's the highest non-technical mountain in the world meaning you can climb it without ropes if you access it from the northern route. That being said, it isn't a fast or easy route. The average amount of time it takes to summit the mountain is 20 days so it's not a simple feat. That being said, if you conquer this mountain, you'll be the highest person in both North and South America. After, we're going to head to Argentina's Patagonia region to visit beautiful Barloche. Located in the northern region of Patagonia, Barloche is this incredible city built on a lake. It reminds me of a city you would expect to find in Switzerland. The scenery here is so serene and beautiful. It's a great place to come in the summer to enjoy Argentina's Lake District. It's also a great place to come in the winters to ski. I really like the nearby mountains of Cerro Catedral. They are so jagged and unique looking especially during autumn when the vegetation turns a strikingly color. After, we're going to head to Patagonia's coast to visit Peninsula Valdez. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, the Peninsula Valdez is this arid piece of land that is home to a lot of wildlife such as penguins and seals. One of the main reasons this area is famous is because it's one of the best places in the world to see southern right whales. Now from the months of June to December, you can come here to see the whales. They come to mate and also give birth and raise their young since the waters around the peninsula are common warmer than the open oceans. To see the whales, the best option is to go on a whale watching tour who can take you out on a boat to witness these magnificent creatures. The southern right whale was once endangered so it's so amazing to see them just thriving here. Another thing interesting about Peninsula Valdez is that it's one of the few places in the world where orcas have been seen to beach themselves in order to catch seals. There's so much incredible wildlife in this area. After, we're going to head back to Patagonia's mountains to visit El Chaltén. Located within Los Glaciadores National Park, El Chaltén is this isolated mountain village and I'd say it's the hiking capital of Patagonia. As you drive into Chaltén, you have the iconic view of Fitzroy Mountain. It's just beyond epic. We spent several days here and I really enjoyed it. The vibes of El Chaltén are amazing. Now, the main reason we came here was to do the hike to Laguna de los Tres. It's a nearly 14-mile hike with an elevation gain of 3,454 feet. We started early and it costs about $45 a person to enter the national park. The first section of the trail is uphill for about an hour and the scenery is just spectacular. Once you get to the top part, you get your first views of Mount Fitzroy. The day we did it, it was cloudy and raining in the morning and we couldn't see the Fitzroy Peak so I was just praying so that we could have some clear weather when we got to the top. The next section of the hike was my favorite. It was pretty flat and you walk through spectacular nature. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I've been and it's pure nature that's basically untouched aside from the trail. As we were getting closer to Fitzroy, the clouds around the mountain started clear which boosted my morale because the last section of the hike is absolutely brutal. Similar to the Laguna Torre hike, it was an uphill scramble that took us about an hour to complete. As we got near the top, the wind was absolutely insane but the skies were clear and we could see all of Fitzroy so we were just so excited. We climbed over the last ridge and finally got a view of the lake at the base of Fitzroy and it's easily one of the most incredible views I've ever experienced in my life. I just couldn't believe this place. There's perfectly blue water contrasted with the icy jagged peaks of Fitzroy. I don't think there are any mountains more perfect than here. We spent some time on the lake and just enjoyed walking along the shore. We then hiked up to this lookout point and it gave an astounding view of Laguna de la Estrella and Laguna Suiza. We stayed up here for a good hour and right when we started to leave, clouds began to cover the Fitzroy again and I felt extremely fortunate to have some great weather while we were up there. I would feel so bad if we did all that work only to have the Fitzroy covered by clouds so make sure when you do it that you have a good weather forecast. The hike back wasn't too bad and we made a few pit stops along the river. In total, it took us about eight hours to do the hike. This was definitely my favorite thing we did during our time in Patagonia. Another popular hike you can do while you're in Chaltén is Laguna Torre. It's about a 13 mile roundtrip trek and it takes you to this beautiful lake that gives you an incredible view of the Cerro Torre Peak. After it, we're going to visit El Calafate. It's located about two and a half hours drive from El Chaltén and it's a fairly large city on Lago Argentina. There's also an airport here and it's a great place to access Argentina's Patagonia region. On the drive to El Calafate, I came across so many conacos. They are one of the most common animals in Patagonia and there's literally just thousands of them. They're one of the biggest animals in South America and they can be a little dangerous because they often cross the roads so you gotta be extra cautious while you drive. Anyways, the main reason we came here was to visit the nearby Perito Moreno Glacier. It's located about an hour and a half drive from El Calafate and I have to say it's one of the most impressive glaciers I've ever seen. When we got there, we walked on the pathways that take you up to viewpoints of the glacier. There were some boats taking tours to get people close to the glacier and it's something I would like to do next time. Anyways, I just love looking at the glacier and marveling at its size. The ice walls have an average height of 210 feet. Occasionally, pieces of ice would fall off the glacier and it would make the loudest sounds and if you're lucky, you might see a giant piece of ice fall into the lake. Another cool glacier you can visit in the area is the Speca Xena Glacier. It's located on Lago Argentina and it can only be reached by boat. It's one of the largest glaciers in Argentina and its ice wall reaches over 440 feet high which is more than twice the size of Perito Moreno. It's definitely worth taking a tour to explore this wonder of Argentina. For our final destination, we're going to visit Tierra del Fuego. Located at the bottom of Argentina, Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago and it's the most southern part of South America. Aside from Antarctica and a few islands, it's the most southern place you can go in the world. It's got its name because early explorers reported seeing bonfires along the coast from the natives. The main reason I wanted to go to Tierra del Fuego was to visit Ushuaia. It's the capital of Tierra del Fuego and it's a fairly large city with a population over 80,000 people. It's where most ships start their journey to Antarctica. Now to get there, there are a few options. You can fly from Buenos Aires or El Calafate or also take a bus. We had a car and I thought the road trip would be fun. So from El Calafate, we made the long drive. We had to cross the Chile-Argentine border twice and we had to take a ferry that took us over the Strait of Magellan. After, it was a beautiful drive and as we got closer to Ushuaia, the scenery got more and more epic. There were tons of guanacos and the trees and vegetation were just so peculiar. Once you get to the mountains near Ushuaia, that's when the scenery gets unbelievable. There was this massive lake called Lago Fanano and it looked like an ocean. I mean, I'm so happy we did the drive in. The roads and scenery were spectacular. When we got to Ushuaia, we spent about three days there. One fun thing you can do in Ushuaia is go on a boat tour to experience the surrounding scenery. We did a five-hour tour and first, we stopped at this lighthouse which was built on this rock island in 1920 and it's home to a lot of birds. Afterwards, we sailed down the Beagle Channel until we got to Isla Martillo. This island is famous because it's home to thousands of penguins. I believe some boat tours are able to walk on the island but ours was fairly huge and we could only observe the penguins from the boat but it was definitely a highlight of the tour. If you don't want to go on a boat ride, you can visit Tierra del Fuego National Park. It's about a 20-minute drive from the city and it's a beautiful pristine area and if you drive on the road, it takes you to basically the most southern point you can drive in the world called Bahia La Batalla. It marks the end of the Pan-American Highway which starts in Alaska and ends here. I mean, I enjoyed walking around the park. It was just so serene and peaceful. Another one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Ushuaia was to do the hike to Laguna Esmeralda. It's a 5.4-mile round-trip trek and it's a lot easier than the other hikes mentioned in this video. The start of the trail is about a 30-minute drive outside of Ushuaia and it begins in this forest and after a bit, you come to this clearing and get to see some of Tierra del Fuego's raw nature. Afterwards, it was an uphill climb and we walked along this beautiful river. After about an hour of walking, we made it to the lake. I was just amazed by the view. It was this milky blue color sandwiched the mountains of Tierra del Fuego. The wind was blowing the clouds so fast which would change the lake's color from light to dark. Overall, I think Laguna Esmeralda is one of the most beautiful and easy day hikes in Ushuaia. I mean, Tierra del Fuego is amazing. Well, that is it for my Argentina top 10. There's still so much to see in this incredible country so I plan to make a part 2. Let me know where your favorite place is in Argentina in the comments below. You can find me on Instagram and TikTok at shirley.films. It's Ryan and we will see you later.